Individual match tickets now available

It promises to be a fine and intense celebration. At the end of the year, the best women’s teams will meet in France to compete for the continental title.

The opening of single ticket sales on Saturday 5 May, during the French Cup Finals played at the AccorHotels Arena in Paris, has been a key moment in the run-up to the competition.

With tickets starting at 5 euro, 65% of the matches accessible for under 8 euro, a 20% reduction for the handball family, four price categories in all venues, and with prices for the final from 25 to 150 euros, the EHF EURO 2018 organising committee is hoping to make this a popular event and has therefore provided the means to encourage a big turnout. The objective is to sell 165,000 tickets.

More than 20% of tickets have already been scooped up

Great success is expected after the first phase of ticket sales with packs for three or five matches, launched in September. More than 20% of tickets have already been scooped up, and for certain matches such as the final, 30% of the seats are already sold.

To the great satisfaction of the organising committee, half of the buyers are non-members. This demonstrates the appeal of the competition and of the French team outside of the handball family, in no small part thanks to the world title secured last December.

After a preliminary round that will be played in Nancy, the French team, looking for its first European crown, hopes to make it into the main round in Nantes, and then on to Paris for the final phase at the AccorHotels Arena.

A global strategy

Fans outside of the country have also started making plans. The allocation of the host cities during the preliminary and main rounds for four countries (France in Nancy then Nantes, Norway in Brest then Nancy, Denmark in Nantes for both rounds and the Netherlands (if qualified) in Montbéliard then Nancy) has helped to increase the awareness of women’s handball amongst fans in these major nations.

Confident in their team’s potential, as the title holder and world vice-champion, the Norwegians are already making a beeline for the final phase in Paris.

Building on the success of the Men’s 2017 World championship in France (539,943 tickets sold including 79% to the general public and an attendance rate of 85%), the EHF EURO 2018 used the ticketing policy from that event as the basis for its own.

The 'one match = one session' arrangement has therefore been repeated. And with some host sites (Paris, Brest and Nantes) having already been involved during the 2017 World Championship, a large part of the audience has already been up to speed for a long time.

Clubs have also been targeted. The creation of a “club challenge”, with prizes for the clubs buying the most tickets (backstage visits during the competition, training with a handball star, etc.), was also very popular amongst the 2400 clubs in the French Federation. The keen interest in this challenge helped to strongly motivate the handball family around this event.

The final tournament draw on 12 June 2018 will serve to complete the competition’s programme, while helping to drive ticket sales. More than ever, the EHF EURO 2018 promises to be “Handballissime”.

To remember:

Seats starting at 5 euro

65% of the matches under 8 euro

20% discount for the handball family from the 1st day of ticket sales to the last